


But!: A Response to Responses

by centreoftheselights



Series: AO3 Ship Stats [9]
Category: No Fandom
Genre: Activism, Archived From Tumblr, Archived From centrumlumina Tumblr, Feminism, Meta Essay, Nonfiction, Racism in fandom, Sexism in Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2019-09-17 14:50:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16976616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/centreoftheselights/pseuds/centreoftheselights
Summary: This post is a follow-up toFandom’s Race Problem(and to a lesser extent,Why M/M?) and a rebuttal to some of the criticisms of myself and others’ work on sexism and racism in fandom that I’ve seen in the past. No statistics here: this is my opinion, pure and simple.





	But!: A Response to Responses

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted 18th August 2016.

This post is a follow-up to [Fandom’s Race Problem](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16976571) (and to a lesser extent, [Why M/M?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16976958)) and a rebuttal to some of the criticisms of myself and others’ work on sexism and racism in fandom that I’ve seen in the past. No statistics here: this is my opinion, pure and simple.

**But society is sexist/racist!**

Yes, it is. I don’t think anyone involved in this discussion is arguing with that. (If they are, there’s a bigger problem than this post is equipped to deal with.) But we don’t have any direct control over society and the mainstream media - definitely not in the way that we can control the course fandom is taking through what we choose to support and create.

If you’re using this to argue that we should instead focus our efforts on real-world activism, that’s an interesting discussion to have. But if you’re using it as an excuse to do nothing because it’s someone else’s problem… you can have that opinion, but don’t be surprised when people disagree.

**But sexism and racism are separate issues! You’re conflating them!  
**

They are, and they should be discussed separately. Unfortunately the two arguments are currently so similar, and both issues seem so widespread, that discussing both interchangeably is a time-saving device. I could have made separate versions of this post for racism and sexism, but it would more or less be copy-pasted the whole way through.

That said, it’s entirely possible to be racist and not sexist, or vice versa. If you’re primarily concerned about one of these issues, please understand that only half of this post (and most others like it) applies to you.

 **But fandom is my safe space!** or **But you’re forcing me to write fic I don’t care about!** or ****But I support women/POC in other ways!**  
**

Self-reflection is hard. Self-reflection on a touchy subject like discrimination is even harder. Changing ingrained habits and beliefs takes work, and even if you support that in theory, not everyone has the time, energy, emotional resources etc. to achieve it. And that’s okay. And not everyone _wants_ to change their habits or beliefs, and that’s okay too. There is no such thing as someone who is perfect on any issue, and so there is always work that _could_ be done. Sooner or later _everyone_ has to decide “that’s enough for now” or “I’m good with the way I am”. Trying to force the issue, in yourself or others, doesn’t help anyone.

(I worry that the above may sound condescending but I’m seriously not: if you decide you don’t want to have to think this way about fandom, I fully support that decision.)

However, you also have to accept that people are not going to stop talking about these issues just because you personally have opted to disengage. They are trying to persuade other people who haven’t made that decision, or who haven’t yet considered that this is an issue they might have to make a decision on. And yes, persuasion sometimes includes outright telling you, as a reader, what to do - imperatives are a tried and tested persuasive technique.

If you comment on posts about the topic in a public forum like Tumblr, then people will take that as a cue to respond. If you don’t want your beliefs to be challenged, then you have to adopt the fandom mantra: don’t like, don’t read.

**But I can’t help what I ship!**

There is no one ship which is inherently racist because it contains white people, or sexist because it contains men. When people single out particular ships as problematic, they are pointing to a broad trend in the whole fandom for that ship, not an issue which applies to every single individual shipper. If your ship has been criticised, it is not intended as a criticism of you as a person. It is an attempt to feel out underlying attitudes and issues which might lead some ships to grow in popularity while others struggle to attract shippers.

However, it is important to note that shipping is not entirely spontaneous. It is influenced by the works you choose to consume and the blogs you choose to pay attention to. While you don’t necessarily need to question these influences, you should be aware that the situation is not entirely outside of your control.

**But there are no femslash/POC pairings I’m interested in!**

Really? None at all?Are you sure?

Fine.

So long as you’ve actually considered the possibility of some femslash/POC ships - including watching media which actually _includes_ those kinds of characters, if you don’t already - then I don’t care. All I’m asking you to do is give due thought to the possibility.

**But criticising M/M is homophobic!  
**

This one I hear a lot, particularly from the fandom Old Guard who have been around since the pre-AO3 days. And to them I say: this isn’t about you. You know who I make these posts for? For the newbies.

Because if you’re in the world of mainstream culture right now, if you’ve heard of fandom at all, then the thing you have heard of is probably M/M. K/S, Johnlock, One Direction RPF. All of the mammoth pairings - the ones that the _mainstream press now writes about on a semi-regular basis_ \- are about white guys. For better or worse, whatever things were like in the past, dudeslash is now the public face of fandom, and that is the position it is being criticised from.

With that understood, the issue that the most significant and accessible portion of fandom - that is, one of the parts that is most attractive and most active for young people just discovering fanfiction for the first time (and having just done a quick survey of their ‘latest works’ pages, - yes, it seems AO3 is now significantly more active than FFN) - has an issue with sexism and racism warrants discussion. Pointing out racism or sexism is not a homophobic attack on the concept, it is an attempt to improve problems in our community as we see it.

**But I don’t want to be accidentally racist/sexist!  
**

This is a good concern to have, but don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. You will make mistakes. So long as you are aware of the possibility - so long as you are trying your best, and remain open to honest criticism, and are willing to learn from your mistakes - then just go for it.

****But it doesn’t matter what I do!** **

This is sort of a retread of the first part of this list but it’s important.

**Fandom is a community. It is made up of people. It might not change directly _because_ of your actions, but if no-one does anything, it _definitely won’t_ _change at all_.**

You don’t have to be fighting for change constantly so long as you’re satisfied with your own actions, but do not be shocked that not everyone thinks that way. We have a right to be angry at the situation, and so we have decided that it is better to light a candle than curse the dark.

And we aren’t planning on shutting up any time soon.


End file.
